Approaching Land

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First Voyage of Christopher Columbus Approaching Land PED, STANSA29 APR 24 1992 00820 CHRIS Vì

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APPROACHING LAND First Day of Issue: April 24, 1992 First Issue Location: Christiansted, US Virgin Islands By the 5th century B.C., Greek astronomers and math- ematicians realized the earth was spherical in shape. The astronomical and geographical observations of Ptolemy, an Egyptian mathematician of the 2nd century B.C., guided scientific thought until the 16th century, but his ancient miscalculations of the earth's circumference made land masses appear much closer by sea than they actually were. Few sailors of Columbus's day believed the world was flat. So when mutinous rumblings echoed below the decks of his ships, Columbus knew it was not fear of falling off the edge of the world that roused his crews' ire — it was fear of the wind. Caravels had never before carried sailors so far from home. Could these sturdy ships carry them safely back to Spain against strong easterly winds? With rousing cries of “Adelante!", Co- lumbus assured them that land would soon be sighted. Events proved him right, for two hours after midnight land was sighted. Columbus and his men waited to see what manner of land sunrise brought to light. No. 92-15 First Day of Issue Postcard Collection ©1992 Fleetwood® Cheyenne, WY 82008-0001 Original painting for the First Day of Issue Postcard by Tom McNeely Heelwood